The Blog

Wild camping in the Lake District

20/21.11.14 Walking with; Rob   How did it get to the end of November? When was the last time I got out on a wild camp? These were the questions going through my mind as I examined my map of the Lakes laid out before me. It might be November, but it was still reasonably

Continue Reading

This week’s newspaper column

7.5 miles 4 hours Mam Tor is one of the iconic features of the Peak District. In terms of views attained for minimal effort the “Mother Hill” has few equals. At 517 metres it’s no minnow but most people start from the National Trust car park just off the Chapel-en-le-Frith to Castleton road and hence

Continue Reading

Mam Tor and the Great Ridge and Kinder

4/5.11/14 Walking with; Jo     The shin splints finally seem to have mended and what better way to celebrate a return to walking health than with a classic Peak District double header. Mam Tor is a Peak District icon, alternatively known as “The Mother Mountain” or “The Shivering Mountain” it delivers spectacular views of the

Continue Reading

Ingleborough newspaper column

  10 miles 5 5 hours Whilst there are more than enough walks in the Peak District to keep me busy for half a lifetime, once in a while it is worth spreading the wings and exploring a little further afield and Ingleborough is definitely a hill worth the ninety minute drive. At 723 metres

Continue Reading

A birding ramble around Rye Harbour

27.10.14 Walking with; My Dad (Keith)   No visit down South to the places that still resonate as home twenty plus years after I left them is complete without a fish and chip lunch, a pint of local bitter and a wander around Rye Harbour with the old man! It’s the outdoors equivalent of a

Continue Reading

Risk

RISK Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T. S. Eliot This week the outdoors community has had to come to terms with one of the darkest days in recent history with events in Nepal. Thirty nine individuals are now known to have died during

Continue Reading

Newspaper column on Shutlingsloe

9.5 miles 4.5 hours Whilst not quite as spectacular in altitude or appearance as it’s Swiss namesake, Shutlingsloe or the Cheshire Matterhorn is a lovely, little hill that is definitely worth a visit. Coming in at 506 metres, it is the third highest peak in Cheshire, but to my mind it is inherently more attractive

Continue Reading

Yorkshire 3 Peaks

4.10.14 Walking with; Mountain Monkeys The Yorkshire 3 Peaks is one of the UK’s classic “challenge walks” and is deservedly popular. It takes in three of Yorkshire’s highest peaks, Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough and covers around 25 miles, not an undertaking to be taken lightly. Whilst the route can be started from a number of

Continue Reading

Latest newspaper column

10.5 miles 4.5 hours Last week I found myself in Oxfordshire and enjoyed a couple of beautiful rural walks in and around the idyllic villages surrounding Oxford and Bicester. It’s a landscape of thatched cottages and village greens dotted around huge estates and country houses, the most notable of which is Blenheim Palace, the Churchill’s

Continue Reading

The Coledale Horseshoe

29.9.14 Walking with; Al   The Lakeland horseshoes are some of the best walking that England has to offer. I have long loved the Fairfield and Kentmere versions, and can safely say that the Coledale has now joined this illustrious list. Al and I had spent the night camping in Braithwaite and partaking of the

Continue Reading

Testimonials

Categories